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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think people shouldn't give out legal advice on here when they don't know what they're talking about

169 replies

BooBearBoo · 22/05/2011 16:24

I have read SO MANY threads on here with posted giving out advice as if it is gospel and it is totally wrong.

I've had to clear up nonsense on two threads in as many days.

Why do people think this is ok to do????!!!!!! It's dangerous!

OP posts:
AlpinePony · 22/05/2011 18:11

worraliberty When I first started using chat rooms many, many moons ago there were a surprising amount of "models" tapping away night after night. These days everyone's got 4 degrees. Wink

Toughasoldboots · 22/05/2011 18:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LRDTheFeministDragon · 22/05/2011 18:15

Alpine - what's wrong with it is that it means 'I am a barrister, that is, I am right'. But being a barrister doesn't confer special 'rightness' powers on you.

LRDTheFeministDragon · 22/05/2011 18:16

Saying 'I am a barrister, that is, a lawyer' would be fine. You use it to qualify, not to link two unrelated things.

valiumredhead · 22/05/2011 18:21

I wouldn't believe anyone's advice on the internet to be honest - it all needs to be taken with a bucket of pinch of salt Grin

Even people claiming to be barristers Wink

worraliberty · 22/05/2011 18:22

Exactly valium

Worraliberty O.B.E Grin

EverythingInMiniature · 22/05/2011 18:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

valiumredhead · 22/05/2011 18:24

Mind you I am often heard saying "I am your mother, I am RIGHT" to ds Grin

ZZZenAgain · 22/05/2011 18:24

I see your point but I think you are being a bit U, it's an internet chat forum for parents not a legal advice bureau IYSWIM

It is in relationships sometimes I wonder abut the wisdom of giving advice. You just never know who reads it and what they do with it and where they end up

lesley33 · 22/05/2011 18:25

I think one of the threads the OP is referring to was about redundancy and whether what their employer had did was illegal. The OP is right that some people were posting things about the law that simply isn't true e.g. what the employer MUST do.

The OP posted to outline in brief the steps an employer has to go through before they make anyone redundant. The OP didn't say therefore you can sue and win your case, or any variant on it which involves an opinion. The OP simply stated the facts.

valiumredhead · 22/05/2011 18:26

Can someone tell me what the difference between a lawyer and a solicitor is please? Ds asked me the other day and I said 'lawyer' was American...... but I saw it used to describe someone the other day on the news....... Confused

LRDTheFeministDragon · 22/05/2011 18:26

Grin Ah, but valium, they're synonyms, 'mother' and 'right', aren't they? At least until you're 18, and in my mum's case, until I'm 54. Hmm

EverythingInMiniature · 22/05/2011 18:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AlpinePony · 22/05/2011 18:28

I still don't get it. I am AlpinePony and frequently I too am right. Wink

EverythingInMiniature · 22/05/2011 18:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

higgle · 22/05/2011 18:31

Some of the "advice" people give on the relationships thread is scary - there are always cries to chuck the errant spouse out and change the locks - repeated ad nauseum.

Lucyinthepie · 22/05/2011 18:33

"The thread had a simple premise and most seem to agree with me;"

Yes, just that part of that sentence confirms it for me - you ARE a barrister! Grin

LRDTheFeministDragon · 22/05/2011 18:33

It's not a big deal AP, it's not even what she said, just what motherinferior and I thought she might have said ... clear? What's that you say, things sometimes get distorted on the internet?

Never.

Grin at EiM's DP. Bless him ... fortunately DH and I are united in our agreement that my mum is seldom right, despite what she thinks.

AlpinePony · 22/05/2011 18:42

I think you're over-reacting, I thought it was a very tongue in cheek comment to have made.

Perhaps I'm not taking the internet seriously enough.

TheFarSide · 22/05/2011 18:42

valium - a lawyer is a generic term covering both solicitors and barristers. I know that because I am a careers adviser. Wink

LRDTheFeministDragon · 22/05/2011 18:49

Ah, could well be, AP! Grin

Thing is, if someone wants legal advice, they need to go somewhere else than MN's AIBU section. I'm pretty sure when BooBearBoo is in professional mode, she doesn't use that nickname and she doesn't make tongue-in-cheek comments ... on here she does because it's a casual chat site. That's why none of us come across particularly convincingly as professionals, and nor should we.

DontHassleTheBOF · 22/05/2011 18:50

Motherinferior- what is the secret truth about JudgeFlounce please?

melpomene · 22/05/2011 18:51

For those who want to be pedantic, how about "I am a barrister, ergo I am right?

valiumredhead · 22/05/2011 18:55

TheFarSide thanks!

mumblechum1 · 22/05/2011 18:56

I think in the MN lawyers' defence, there are actually quite a few of us, such as Collaborate, BabyBarrister,MumOverSeas, PRBridge, STIDW who do know our stuff and that we contribute valuable free advice to people, particularly on Family Law.

Sadly there have been one or two trolls on the Legal Section but they/he soon gets rubbished by the ones who do know what they're talking about.